The Lachter was a common unit of length used in the mining

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

 industry in Europe, usually to measure depth, tunnel driving and the size of mining fields; it was also used for contract work. In most German-speaking mining fields it was the most important unit of length.

A Lachter was roughly equal to the amount which a man could contain within his outstretched arms. It was thus similar to the Klafter

Fathom

A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water.There are 2 yards in an imperial or U.S. fathom...

(ca. 1.8 m), but was usually rather larger.

The Lachter was - with regional differences - subdivided into Achtel (also called a Spann, Gräpel or Gröbel), (Lachter)Zoll, Primen (or Prinen) and Sekunden:

• 1 Lachter = 8 Spann = 80 (Lachter)Zoll = 800 Primen = 8,000 Sekunden

In the 19th century a decimal system

Decimal system

Decimal system may refer to:* The decimal number system, used in mathematics for writing numbers and performing arithmetic.* The Dewey Decimal System, a subject classification system used in libraries....

 of subdivision was established:

• 1 Lachter = 10 Lachterfuß = 100 Lachterzoll = 1,000 Lachterlinien

Like other units of measure, the Lachter varied in length depending on the region, but there could also be differences in length within the same region. In addition there could also be differences between various mining fields within a territory. The specification and use of conversion tables only makes sense if it is known for certain, where and at which times the values were valid. Some examples:

Region	Length of 1 Lachter in m	Remarks
Altenberg (Ore Mountains)	1.9851
Anhalt-Köthen Anhalt-Köthen Anhalt-Köthen has existed on two separate occasions. The first state was created in 1396 when the Anhalt-Zerbst was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. The first creation lasted until 1552 when it was inherited by Anhalt-Dessau....	2.0410	Harzgerode Lachter
Annaberg Annaberg-Buchholz Annaberg-Buchholz is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, in the Erzgebirge, capital of the district Erzgebirgskreis.The town is located in the Ore Mountains, at the side of the Pöhlberg . It has three Protestant churches, among them that of St...	1.9826
Baden Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden was a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.-History:...  (to 1827)	2.25	= 7.5 old Baden feet (Fuß)
Baden Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden was a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.-History:...  (from 1827)	2.99	= 10 new Baden feet
Bavaria Bavaria Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...	1.9705
Bayreuth	2.0354	equal to 80 Bayreuth inches (Zoll)
Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden is a municipality in the German Bavarian Alps. It is located in the south district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, near the border with Austria, some 30 km south of Salzburg and 180 km southeast of Munich...	1.7512	equalt to 6 feet
Bohemia Bohemia Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...	2,3805	equal to 4 ells (Ellen)
Brunswick Duchy of Brunswick Brunswick was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established as an independent duchy by the Congress of Vienna in 1815...	1.9198
Clausthal Clausthal-Zellerfeld Clausthal-Zellerfeld is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the southwestern part of the Harz mountains. Its population is approximately 15,000, Clausthal-Zellerfeld is also the seat of the Samtgemeinde Oberharz....	1.9238
Eisleben Eisleben Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as the hometown of Martin Luther, hence its official name is Lutherstadt Eisleben. As of 2005, Eisleben had a population of 24,552...	2.0111
Freiberg Freiberg -Places:* Freiberg, Saxony, Germany** Freiberg , Saxony, Germany** Freiberg subcamp of Flossenbürg concentration camp* Freiberg am Neckar, Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany...	1.9426	Old Freiberg Lachter
Hanover Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...	1.9198
Idrija Idrija Idrija is a small town and municipality in the Goriška region of Slovenia. It is known for its mercury mine and lace....  (Carniola Carniola Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola... )	1,957	6 Idrian feet
Joachimsthal Jáchymov For other places called Joachimsthal, see Joachimsthal Jáchymov . compl: "Sant Joachim's Sthal" is a spa town in north-west Bohemia in the Czech Republic belonging to the Karlovy Vary Region. It is situated at an altitude of 733 m above sea level in the eponymous St...  (today: Jáchymov)	1.918
Johanngeorgenstadt Johanngeorgenstadt Johanngeorgenstadt is a mining town in Saxony’s Ore Mountains, 17 km south of Aue, and 27 km northwest of Karlovy Vary. It lies in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, and right on the border with the Czech Republic, is a state-recognized health resort , and calls itself Stadt des...	1.9811
Kronach Kronach Kronach is a town in Oberfranken, Bavaria, Germany, located in the Frankenwald area. It is the capital of the district Kronach.Kronach is the birthtown of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Maximilian von Welsch, as well as Johann Kaspar Zeuss and Josef Stangl....	2.1270	equal to 7 Nuremberg feet
Lippe-Detmold	2.3161
Marienberg Marienberg Marienberg can refer to:*Marienberg, Saxony, the capital of the Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis district of the German state of Saxony*Bad Marienberg, a town in the Westerwaldkreis of Rhineland-Palatinate...	1.9849
Nassau	2.0924
Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...	1.8965	1 Berglachter = 6 shoes (Schuh)
Prussia Prussia Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...	2.092	80 Prussian inches (Zoll)
Saxony Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...	1.98233 2,00000	until 1830: 7 Dresden or Saxon feet from 1830: defined to be exactly 2 metres.
Schemnitz (today: Banská Štiavnica)	2.022
Silesia Silesia Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...	1.9202
Tyrol County of Tyrol The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...  (1769-1809 and after 1815)	1,8949	= Viennese Klafter
Tyrol County of Tyrol The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary... : Innsbruck (before 1769)	2,005	= 6 Tyrolean feet = 72 Tyrolean inches
Tyrol County of Tyrol The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary... : Kitzbühl (1747)	1,78	= 64 Tyrolean inches
Tyrol County of Tyrol The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary... : Schwaz	1,75	= 63 Tyrolean inches
Württemberg Württemberg Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....	2,0054	= 7 Württemberg feet

A Lachterschnur was an oiled, 10–12 Lachter long cord, used as a measuring device.